I was sitting in the Butchers Arms in High Street in Llandaff yesterday lunch time and Max Boyce walked in with a couple of rich looking guys. They started talking about Swansea being in the Prem and for egg chasers seemed very up to speed. Then they began to talk about next year "When both Teams are up there" and what good it will do for the local economy. I poined out that we had to gt there first and he said, "They'll get there, mark my words I know!" and I started to wonder if these folks really do know something through their contacts about the real determination of the club, that us poor fans just hope for. However I did also comment on the fact that if we get there the jacks might get relegated and he said, "Yes, thats the problem" It was just like he was on stage again. LMAO ( I get a pint from the landlord for plugging the pub too, best real pub in Cardiff!)
the USA have their own league, there are plenty of soccer fans out there, but probably not enough to get 15000 or more fans each week. i can see where you're coming from but for the club to be able to get serious money from places like thailand or china you need to be one of the top 5 clubs in the world, a man utd, so its silly to think we will be able to exploit malaysia any more than the odd sponsorship deal here and there.
Just off on a slight tangent Swamp...I've got some friends in the US who love their "soccer" (I cringe every time they use that expression) and they're always going on about how the attendances are growing so I had a quick look and your right. As of 2010, 8 of the 16 MLS average below 15000 with the majority of the rest ranging from 15000 to 21000. The only notable exception are Seattle who average 36000 which, considering it's one of the sports over there they can't claim to be 'World Champions' at, is quite impressive. Useless facts brought to you courtesy of boredom source: http://www.socceramerica.com/article/40114/mls-attendance-on-the-rise.html
I wasn't suggesting Americans were not interested or that the big money is not in the US, but seriously everybody in SEA has a team. Granted they are from the top 4, but no club has attempted to grow a fan base in the region aside form their reputation. Maybe Cardiff can make some inroads. I think we agree they would have to be a prem club. I guess it's what we define as serious money I think what we may expect is a comfortable income from SEA that will keep Cardiff financial viable for the foreseeable future if we build links correctly. I wasn't thinking beyond that
